What Could Have Been
by DreamWithYourEyesOpen
Summary: They're black and white, fire and ice, good and evil. Do they have anything in common?  An analysis of the Dramione shipping.


It is known fact that Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy despise each other.

Even if they didn't have the blood status difference, being from Gryffindor and Slytherin would surely hold that hatred in place. And it doesn't help that they are the embodiment of their houses.

Hermione is the perfect example of a Gryffindor, and Draco the same with Slytherin; all of which causes them to be entirely different.

Each House has its requirements. Gryffindors are known to be brave and chivalrous; Slytherins are known to be cunning and very shrewd.

Hermione's part of the Golden Trio and Draco's a former Death Eater. They're black and white, fire and ice, good and evil.

Then again, they have _some_ similarities.

Gryffindors can be reckless, and while Harry and Ron have that trait, Hermione holds the Slytherin trait of self-preservation. Hermione, being the goody-goody she is, always thinks before she acts.

They're both achievement-oriented. Always yearning for success, ambitious, and driven, they always have their eye on the prize.

Draco has always been jealous of Hermione's intelligence. He always came second to her, _only_ her, during school. He suspects that, other than her blood and association with Harry Potter, her cleverness is what his father hated her for the most.

And Hermione can't help to admit, rather grudgingly, that being around lazy Gryffindor's all day who didn't understand her thirst for knowledge, Draco's wit was rather...refreshing.

When they first entered Hogwarts, they both had difficulty with their peers. They were bossy, pompous, and loved to brag about their skills.

When did he first notice her? _Really _notice her?

Sometimes he thinks it was back in third year when she punched him. Yes, he knows it's a strange thing to really notice a girl over. But he'd never been addressed or treated that way, especially from a girl. He's never liked girls who didn't have a backbone.

Or maybe it was back in fourth year, when she entered Hogwarts' dining hall on the arm of Viktor Krum. She simply glowed, and he tried to muster up an insult, but the sight of her rendered him speechless. He never thought of her as an actual girl, a _pretty _girl at that, until that moment.

What _really _got him to notice her though, wasn't about her sharp tongue and fantastic right hook. It wasn't about how her eyes sparkle and her sweet smile.

It was about her undying, unyielding, loyalty.

Even when horrid Bellatrix continued to torture her, her loyalty never wavered. Her bravery and pure _goodness_ shown bright that day and made him see sense.

It made him see how maybe blood status really didn't make a difference. How the "good" side really does equate to the "right" side.

And how undeniably worthless he is compared to her.

Hermione would've told you that she'd always noticed him. Harry and Ron continued to hate him and speak badly of him, and while Hermione will admit to doing the same, she'd never hated him on the same level as them.

He'd insulted her, he'd bullied her, and he'd antagonized her.

But Hermione knew who his father was.

Hermione's the woman she is today because of her parents and she knows Draco was the way he was because of his own. Growing up in the kind of household he did, she understands why he was the way he acted during their school years.

She never excused his behavior; she'll never forget his behavior. But she'll always understand it.

Over the years, Harry and Ron always accused him of certain things, _evil_ things. But Hermione had never truly come to the same conclusion. She knew he was a bully, a prat, and a vain pureblood. But he wasn't a murderer.

In their sixth year, Draco seemed shutdown. He was quiet, reserved, and sickly looking. He was lifeless; he stopped taunting people and his eyes held a constant dullness. But Hermione could see one emotion in those eyes: misery. It surprised her; it was an actual sign of humanity in him.

Harry believed Draco had gotten the Dark Mark. Hermione opposed this belief because, like she said before, he wasn't a murderer.

But then she was proven wrong. It scared her; _"Malfoy? A Death Eater? Impossible."_

After Dumbledore's death, Harry explained to her what _really _happened. How Draco wasn't really going to kill Dumbledore. How he did everything for the lives of his family.

Although she didn't like the idea of him doing the bidding of Voldemort, she was happy to hear he was doing it for his family. Happy that he was fighting for the life of someone other then his own.

Yes, it's known that Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy hate each other. They have seven years of proof.

She's a Gryffindor, while he's a Slytherin. She's a war hero, while he was on the opposing side. She's innocent, while he's constantly on probation.

But even now, years after the war with a wife and child, at night when it's all quiet and he's left to his thoughts he wonders what could have been.

Had there not been a rivalry between Slytherin and Gryffindor. Had there been no such thing as "Voldemort" and blood status was never given a second thought.

Draco wonders, had there not been those problems, would things have been different? Would _they _have been different? Would they have had a chance together?

But the past affects the future, and their past has passed forever.

* * *

><p>I was bored...been working on the new chapter of Cure, and this popped into my head so I thought 'What the heck?' and wrote it. Please review:)<p> 


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